How the World Ends

*** Author's note: Everyone is 18 years old or more.***

Taylor Mayes and her mom, Madison, unloaded the last few bags of groceries from the back of their SUV. In addition to their normal weekly load, they had bought plenty of frozen pizza, ice cream, chips, and sodas for Taylor's nineteenth birthday. Instead of a traditional party, she was going to have a sleep over so that she and her closest friends could all hang out together one last time before they all went their separate ways for college. Taylor had even convinced Madison to buy a couple of bottles of wine. Since all of her friends were staying over, Madison reluctantly agreed to let them each have a small glass to celebrate in place of a cake.

As a 38 year old single mom, Madison had begun parenting as a teenager herself. She had missed out on a lot of the fun that a teenager should have had. She didn't want to prevent Taylor from having the best of times while she was young and relatively carefree. Although, her main goal since Taylor starting liking boys was to keep her from getting pregnant at an early age like she had done.

Madison's had no regrets about her daughter, who was just as kind as she was beautiful. She was a stunner and drew nearly every boy's eyes to her athletic little body. A tight butt and perky breasts, which were still growing, were nothing compared to the dazzling smile and brilliant blue eyes that formed the foundation of Taylor's gorgeous face which was framed by lustrous, long, black hair.

Madison had looked much the same at Taylor's age. She too caught many a boy's eye, which was what got her into trouble. Madison didn't want Taylor repeating the mistakes of her youth, but she was not a tyrant. Any activities that involved boys came with strict limitations and extreme supervision. However, times like tonight, an all girls slumber party, made it easy for Madison to relax those rules quite a bit. So she was allowing them a little wine.

Being a single mom had been pretty tough. Taylor's father had skipped town the second he learned that he was going to be a teenage daddy. Luckily, the rural farmhouse they lived in had belonged to Madison's parents. It was paid for by the time they passed away, which made living expenses much more manageable. The little nest egg they had saved up and left to their only daughter had been a big help too. Even so, Madison had been working full time as a waitress at the town's one and only diner for most of her adult life to make their lives more comfortable. She never had time for college, nor did grueling shift work at the mill, the town's main source of employment, appeal to her. So the diner was her best choice to make ends meet.

The work at the diner was tough. Coming home to a crying baby and keeping up an entire household on her own was even tougher. It kept Madison on her toes and in pretty good shape, if a little ragged looking sometimes. Now, at 38, she was the manager of the diner and only rarely had to hustle tables, mainly if someone called in sick. Now that she didn't have to run herself ragged nearly so much, the stress lines and hard curves of her body had softened back to something closer to how she had been in her youth. She kept her athletic form though. Her arms were well toned from carrying countless trays of food. Her legs equally so from all those years bustling around the diner for eight hours at a time, usually more. A few gray hairs were starting to show in her otherwise coal black hair. Other than that, she still had a remarkably youthful appearance and a spark of energy that always twinkled out of her deep green eyes.

The girls set the last of the groceries on the kitchen counter and then set to putting them away. Madison separated out the party supplies, while Taylor put their usual items into their usual places. The girls chatted while they worked. Madison and Taylor weren't exactly best friends, but they had a great relationship. Most times, Madison was more like an older sister to Taylor than a mother. She usually resorted to her strict mommy role only when the subject of boys came up. Taylor had been allowed to date, but never to get too serious or be alone with a boy at all. It would be over Madison's dead body that her daughter would end up a pregnant teen like she had been.

Their only fights had, of course, been over boys. Madison never relented and felt confident that her only daughter was still a virgin, even if she didn't want to be. She had even succeeded in convincing Taylor to continue living at home while attending the local community college instead of going away to some far off university where she would be unsupervised. Madison had promised that, once Taylor had earned her two year degree, she could finish her four year at college, if she wanted to. With that goal in mind, Taylor had focused on her studies rather than boys. They had made it several months without any arguments at all, and tonight was no different.

"What time is everyone getting here again?" Madison asked.

"I told everyone between five thirty and six, so they should be here by six thirty."

"Very funny. So true though," said Madison. "Is it just going to be the four of you, or did Becky convince her parents to let her come?"

Taylor shook her head. "No, they wouldn't budge. Her parents are so strict, they make you look like the most laid back mom on earth. She's been on lock down all summer after she caught that DUI. It's just going to be Tonya, Jessica, and Gina."

"And me," said Madison.

"Oh, so now you're the comedian? No way mom. Let this just be my friends and me, please."

"You know I'm just teasing you, kiddo. I will be eating some pizza though, and I'll be managing the wine pouring. You girls aren't getting blitzed and puking all over my carpets. Other than that, the living room is all yours tonight. I'll hang out upstairs in my room."

"Fair enough, mom."

...

Madison's farmhouse was about thirty minutes from town, where most of Taylor's friends lived. Their nearest neighbor was about a mile away, and the land in between was old farmland slowly turning wild. Due to the distance, the three girls carpooled in to save gas. They all arrived together, fashionably late at ten past six. Taylor hugged each of her friends on the porch and welcomed them inside, where they all caught the smell of hot pizzas coming out of the oven. The kitchen had been set up with an array of junk food and sodas all along the counter. Madison was placing the pizzas in a neat row on the kitchen table. Two were cooling as the she placed another two she just pulled from the oven beside them.

"Smells great Ms. Mayes," said Jessica, the most outgoing of the group. Jessica was a total blonde, figuratively and literally. While a bit of a ditz, she was incredibly friendly and outgoing. She was the head cheerleader right up until they had all graduated high school, and had kept her tight little cheerleader's body in top shape all summer.

"Thanks Jessie. How's the folks?" Madison asked while cutting the pizzas into slices.

"Great. My mom said to tell you hello and that she wants to get lunch sometime next week. Just give her a call."

"Cool. What's up with those two?" Madison asked nodding her head at Tonya and Gina. The two girls came in having a heated discussion that Madison couldn't follow. Tonya could talk a mile a minute and only her friends seemed to be able to understand whatever she said once she got going.

"Oh just an argument about Gina's boyfriend. Tonya says he's a cheater, but Gina says that Tonya is full of it. Basically, Tonya said she saw Bobby kissing some girl at the community pool last week. Gina said that Bobby told her about it right away, so it didn't count as cheating."

"Are you serious?" Madison was incredulous. "So he got busted but admitted to it, so it doesn't count? Hey Gina, bad news girl, he was cheating on you and men are creeps."

The other two girls froze mid-sentence, staring at Taylor's mom like she had butted in on a private conversation, even though they were talking at the top of their lungs. Madison held her hands up in a combination "I'm sorry" and "I give up" pose. Both girls burst out laughing and went back to their debate as they strolled through the kitchen to dump their stuff in the living room.

Gina and Tonya had been on the cheerleading team with Taylor and Jessica. Gina and Tonya usually helped form the base of the squad's pyramids and other formations. They were both in great shape, even a little more muscular than a typical athletic teen due to catching and throwing other girls around for three hours a day. The summer off had slimmed their muscles down a little bit, allowing some of their natural soft curves to return. Both girls were brown haired, which they both kept in pony tails. They could have passed for sisters, except that Tonya had fairly massive tits while Gina's were what her boyfriend called "firm handfuls."

Once everyone had their sleeping bags and overnight bags set up in the living room, they all piled into the kitchen to eat. Madison could barely keep up with the conversation, but was glad to be allowed to share a few moments in her daughter's circle of friends. She smiled at her daughter, who was chugging a soda to the chants of "chug, chug, chug" from Jessie. She made it through about half a can before soda burst out through her nose in laughter.

Madison turned to grab some paper towels and glanced out the kitchen window. The sky was growing dark, but it was too soon for the late summer sun to be going down. Madison craned her neck to get a look at the sky past the oaks that surrounded the house. She saw that a bank of clouds was moving in pretty quickly. Funny, she thought, they didn't predict any rain today. She turned and handed Taylor the paper towels and walked to the kitchen door.

A massive, almost black, cloud bank had gathered to the west and was rolling quickly toward them. Madison guessed they had about an hour at best before the storm hit. So much for weathermen, she thought. Madison turned back to the girls and asked them if their windows were up because rain was coming. They said they were and went back to their conversation. A chill ran through Madison's spine as distant lightning gave an ominous glow to the gloom. She closed her door and locked it and then set about gathering some candles and matches, just in case.

The girls ate until they were stuffed and then settled onto the couch and easy chairs in the living room to talk and watch a movie. They were oblivious to what was going on outside until a much closer flash of lightning and bolt of thunder rocked the house. They all jumped as one, suddenly silent. After a heartbeat, they giggled at each other and settled back in.

Soon after, the first ticks of rain started beating time on the windows. Madison looked out, but the world was nothing but darkness and streaks of rain. Thunder boomed every so often, usually far off, but occasionally a blast sounded like it was right outside the door. About the same time the sun would have been setting, lightning flashed brightly in the window and then everything went dark.

The girls let out a collective "Ooohhh," and then fell silent for a minute before they started whispering to each other. From the kitchen, Madison groped for the candles she had collected. She lit several and spread them around the table.

"Might as well do the birthday song and blow out some candles," she said to herself.

Madison set out five wine glasses and the two bottles. She laid out a chocolate chip muffin and stuffed some birthday candles into it. She lit them and called to the girls.

"Taylor, why don't you guys come on into the kitchen and we'll do your song and have your surprise. It might be a while before the power comes back."

"Yes!," Taylor called out from the other room. "I talked my mom into something special instead of cake. Come on guys."

The four girls piled into the kitchen, using their phones for flashlights. They ooh-ed and ah-ed at the candlelit setting on the table. Madison admitted to herself that it really did look quite nice. Very sophisticated for a teenage sleepover, she thought. Madison opened one of the bottles and poured each girl a half a glass. They all sang happy birthday to Taylor before she blew out her candles. Madison took a big swallow of her wine while the girls sniffed and took tentative sips of theirs. They all pretended to like it, even though Madison could see their noses scrunching up after each tiny swallow.

After the first few swallows went down, the girls became accustomed to the taste and asked if they could take the bottle back into the living room to share. Madison initially said no.

"Please mom," Taylor begged. "It's my birthday and the power is out. There's nothing else to do now but sit around together."

"Gee. Thanks," Tonya said to her friend.

Taylor smiled and said, "Hey, sorry. You know what I meant. Please, mom."

Madison sighed, "Fine. Happy birthday kid. But I'm keeping the phones. I don't want any drunk texts or stupid pics posted to instagram or whatever you guys are using now."

Madison held out her hand and collected each girl's phone. She put them in a basket on top of the fridge, refilled her own glass of wine, and turned to head up to her room. "Have fun ladies. I will be checking on you periodically."

The girls smiled at each other in the candlelight once Taylor's mom had gone. They gathered their glasses, the wine bottle, and some of the candles and marched back to the living room. They curled up in their blankets and sipped wine while they gossiped about whatever came to mind. They played a few rounds of truth or dare, but gave up when Taylor wouldn't flash her tits to the room. By then, the bottle was over half empty. They all agreed to change into their pajamas before they finished it and begged Taylor's mom to let them have the other bottle. Gina suggested that they spin the empty bottle and whoever it landed on would have to go ask.

Taylor giggled at her friend, "I'm not playing spin the bottle with any of you guys. Besides, I know where Jessica's mouth has been."

"Shut up," gasped Jessica. "I only sucked his dick for a minute."

"Yeah, 'cause that's how long it takes your boyfriend to shoot his load," quipped Gina.

Jessica threw her pillow at Gina, who batted it aside. When it landed, instead of a gentle thump, the room shook with a rattling boom. A purple light flashed outside and car alarms chirped briefly from the driveway before falling silent once again. In the subsequent silence, the girls heard Madison running from her room to the stairs.

She emerged into the living room, eyes wide. "What happened?"

"Jessica threw a pillow," said Gina.

"It came from out back," Taylor said while pointing the way.

"Might have been a lightning strike right outside," offered Tonya.

Madison breathed a sigh of relief that no one was hurt. She went to the window and tried to get a look at their cars, but it was too dark. Madison did note that there was no wind blowing, just a steady rain falling straight down. She thought she could see a very faint purple glow coming from just beyond where the cars were parked. Worried something was on fire, Madison grabbed a raincoat and a flashlight and headed to the door.

"Girls, I'm just going to look around real quick and make sure everything is OK. Stay in the living room for now. Be right back."

"OK, mom. Be careful," said Taylor.

...

Madison stepped onto the front porch and let her eyes adjust to the almost total darkness. She heard nothing other than the rain drumming on the roof and their cars. After a moment, her eyes had settled enough that she was sure a very faint lavender glow was coming from just up the driveway. She pulled up her hood and headed that way, opting to leave her flashlight off for now so she didn't lose track of the light up ahead.

Having lived here her entire life, Madison knew where every root and crack were along her path. She made her way past their cars and didn't see anything out of place. Once clear of the cars, she saw the purple glow more clearly about thirty yards ahead. She crept forward, half blinded by the rain. When she got close to where she thought she should be, she realized that the light had faded and not returned. She cast around in the dark without success.

She pulled out her flashlight and switched it on. Nothing happened. Madison had tested the light when she was gathering candles earlier and it had worked fine. Now she was stuck in the dark. She turned to head back to the house and discovered that she was standing almost on top of the source, which looked to be a sphere, about two feet across, that was mostly sunk into the mud. Suddenly, it pulsed softly with its beautiful, purple light, almost the color of lavender flowers, Madison thought.

Madison felt no heat coming off of the sphere, so she did not immediately retreat. In fact, the gentle pulses were so soothing that they all but held her in place while they flashed softly in ever quickening patterns. Now doomed to her fate, Madison's flashlight slipped from her hand, her nearly vacant eyes entranced by the pulsing glow. An almost invisible beam of purple light shot out of the sphere and scanned up and down Madison's body for a brief moment. As soon as the beam disappeared, the sphere opened neatly in the center, becoming a hollow half of itself. Inside was a purple blob, pulsing gently in time with the sphere's light.

Without warning an amoeba-like appendage shot out of the ooze and connected to Madison's face, just above her eyes. The arm contracted, pulling the blob from its sphere with alarming speed. The blob slapped into Madison's face with a wet plop and immediately began to enshroud her head. Madison's consciousness returned just as her nose and mouth were covered over. She couldn't see, breath, or scream. Madison flailed about wildly for a moment before she lost control of her muscles. Still in a panic, standing but now unable to move, Madison slurped against the blob while trying to take a breath. All she succeeded in doing was making fart sounds when she exhaled. She could not inhale at all. Her last conscious thought as the blob engulfed her head entirely, was of how much she loved her daughter.

...

Madison snapped awake in her bed with a gasp. Her hands shot to her face, but found nothing out of the ordinary there. She settled back onto her pillow, willing her heart to go back down her throat. What a crazy fucking dream, she thought. Then her eyes settled on the raincoat crumpled on the floor in the darkness. It was still dripping wet. Madison's hands went back to her face again, but still felt nothing. With the power still out, she had no idea what time it was, but she could hear the girls talking and laughing downstairs. She needed to check on them.

As soon as she threw the covers aside, Madison's body froze once again. She felt a buzzing inside her head and a warm pleasant sensation, like a mild tranquilizer, filled her body. Madison could see that she was totally naked and now lay almost spread eagle on her mattress. Something wriggled on her back between her shoulder blades. The buzzing intensified to an almost maddening level. Madison felt a tingling in her spine, like the needles she felt in her arm when it fell asleep. The needling feeling turned hot, cold, tickling, and then painful. The cycling of sensations spread through her entire body and went through every possible physical experience Madison had ever felt. The needling feeling, however, remained ever present.

The sensations cycling through her nervous system continued to shift: thirst, hunger, excitement, exhaustion, rage, and then finally ticked over to what Madison thought of as arousal. Her whole body jumped off the bed in a spasm of pleasure. A tingle went from the wriggling feeling on her back down to her clit. Madison let out an involuntary moan and suddenly the buzzing her head stopped.